A married woman has died in a Catholic priest’s house after she had lied to her husband that, she was going for a funeral.
The woman is a member of the Catholic Women’s league from St Maurice Catholic Church in Lusaka. The Church has suspended Father Abel Mwelwa and also forced him to pay for the funeral expenses following the incident.
According to the report, Father Abel Mwelwa invited the married woman to the parish house on the night of Holy Thursday. Archbishop Alick Banda eventually suspended the clergyman as the judicial vicar of the Archdiocese of Lusaka moments after the occurrence became public.
“I hereby wish to inform you that I have with immediate effect suspended the Rev. Ringford Abel Mwelwa from the priesthood indefinitely. With this suspension, he ceases to be Parish Priest for Kaunda Square Parish. Secondly, the priest also ceases to be the Judicial Vicar of the Archbishop of Lusaka,” reads a note from the church.
Reports say the woman died after the priest injected some substance into the deceased. This was in an attempt to abort her pregnancy. The woman’s family is demanding a proper police investigation into the cause of death.
